travelled to Costa Brava where we performed our first open water dive. That was it for me - I was hooked from that very first dive. Every time I booked a holiday or trip away after that, it was all configured about diving.”
It wasn’t long before the diver’s love of photography began to permeate his experiences in the water. Building confidence and an array of techniques designed to bring light and originality to his work, Friedrich’s work quickly gained a global audience.
“I think the first time I won an award for my photography, I realised this was something that really could be a life project.”
Wind forward, and asked about the work that has given him most pleasure, he notes the Thistlegorm wreck in the Red Sea. “Many people who like my photographs say that they are fascinated by the special light created which helps to breathe life into whatever setting I am attempting to get on film. That really shows up on the Thistlegorm wreck pictures – I was thrilled with the way they turned out.
“Amongst the magnificence of that experience, I also had a brush with an eel which swam right past my head. I noticed it out the corner of my eye and just thought, ‘Okay, on you go buddy!’”
As far as working in and around ocean dwellers goes, the snapper says respect is an essential commodity. “The more time you spend underwater, the more you understand that your biggest threat is the water itself, not the animals and marine life down there.
“The only time I have ever been harmed was from a tiny little Clownfish! They are very territorial and super aggressive when it comes to defending their habitat.
“I wasn’t trying to photograph the attacker – in fact, I didn’t see it. It just came and snapped on the little finger on my left hand and made me wonder immediately what it was. I then saw this green stuff flowing away from my hand – blood. And yes, it’s green underwater, not red!
“I did also get a slap off a humpback whale,” he laughs, “but I’m sure it was only trying to play. That said, if you’re a 30-tonne humpback whale playing with a 90kg human, it’s bit of a disadvantage and I was probably smart to back off! Ultimately, It’s their environment and we are the privileged visitors.”
Friedrich, who also produces a number of split-shots which show the stark contrast between coastal scenery and the wonderful hidden charms under the ocean surfaces, was given a jolt of a different kind in 2013 with a sudden cancer diagnosis.
“I had to take time away from diving. In total I was away for 18 months, and back working as a Project Manager in an IT department as a project manager. I had moved away from the world I loved, and it hit me one day,” he says philosophically. “I was thinking, ‘why I was wasting my life away?’, especially as I didn’t
The more time you spend underwater, the more you
understand that your biggest threat is the water itself, not the animals and marine life down there
68 | SPRING 2023 | ONBOARD
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